Author Archives: Sylvia McLain

About Sylvia McLain

Girl, Interrupting aka Dr. Sylvia McLain used to be an academic, but now is trying to figure out what's next. She is also a proto-science writer, armchair philosopher, amateur plumber and wanna-be film-critic. You can follow her on Twitter @DrSylviaMcLain and Instagram @sylviaellenmclain

A thing of beauty – the Schlenk line

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Sylvia McLain

I am now the proud owner of a Schlenk line – actually it is not a mere Schlenk line but a hybrid – 1/2 high vacuum line, 1/2 Schlenk. And it is a thing of beauty…. Just look at it … Continue reading →

Posted in high vacuum equipment, Schlenk, science equipment | Tagged , | 15 Comments

When do you ‘make it’ ?

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Sylvia McLain

When I was young I had dreams of being an astronaut or a famous athlete. I figured I could go to the Moon or win Wimbledon and then I would have ‘made it’ and could spend the rest of my … Continue reading →

Posted in science careers | Tagged | 17 Comments

Help, Industry save the UK science funding

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Sylvia McLain

(oh and yes I still blog) I was going to write about Willetts and his speech – but really I missed the boat. I was going to write about a paper I published a few years back to let folk … Continue reading →

Posted in David Willetts, science funding | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

New Occam’s year resolutions (happy birthday to us…)

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Sylvia McLain

Not only is it birthday 1 for Occam’s Typewriter but last week was my literal birthday. So maybe a good time to reflect about what I can do differently in the New Year. I have a new job since I … Continue reading →

Posted in Occam's typewriter | Tagged | 7 Comments

C’mon kids play nice

Posted on December 4, 2011 by Sylvia McLain

or how to politely (if strongly) disagree so I read the Womanspace article that has raised a furror on the blogosphere lately… I didn’t like it, it does seem to rely on the standard gender stereotypes that have been going … Continue reading →

Posted in Womanspace | Tagged | 12 Comments

All about shes (and hes)

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Sylvia McLain

I recently watched the wonderful classic All About Eve – Best Picture at the Oscars in 1951. Its a great film if you like the classics, the language is spectacular ( I am always amazed at the language in good … Continue reading →

Posted in stereotypes in science | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Its the right idea….almost

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Sylvia McLain

Peter Thiel who invented PayPal and presciently invested in Facebook has announced that he is giving money though a scheme called ‘Breakout Labs’ where independent researchers and start-up companies will be funded philanthropically through a grant-proposal process and that any … Continue reading →

Posted in Funding, Philanthroscience | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

On Science careers for post-docs….

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Sylvia McLain

and some PIs are good guys (really) I have been reading about David Willetts round table discussion from both Athene Donald and Jenny Rohn. These two fellow Occam T bloggers have been writing about science careers (particularly with respect to … Continue reading →

Posted in science careers | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Bad review, good review, peer review, Parliamentary review

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Sylvia McLain

Are neutrinos faster than light? This is a big question at the moment since they have been ‘observed to be’ by a group of researchers recently. I myself am sceptical, Jon Butterworth wrote an excellent blogpost about this which points … Continue reading →

Posted in fast neutrinos, Peer review, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Waste not, want not

Posted on August 25, 2011 by Sylvia McLain

Discussion of ‘waste’ in both higher education and scientific research seems to keep popping up in my life. Both in Science Question Time (from August 24th) and in some comments here on Occam’s Typewriter posts by both Jenny Rohn and … Continue reading →

Posted in higher education | Tagged , , | 10 Comments